In addition to Randy's recommendations I like Pinot with beef stew, bread and a lite cheese, beef and chicken kabobs, mushroom soup, broiled trout, chicken and dumplings, and hamburger. Even though it's not considered a correct pairing I really like Pinot with baked brie.

Enjoy!

Sam

"The biggest problem most people have is that they think they shouldn't have any." - Tony Robbins

I went to a pinot noir wine and food matching once. There were 12 different pinot noir wines and eight different food dishes. It was an extensive taste experience with the same variety of wine and showed that when matching wine and food, individual flavours come into the equation. Where some of the matches worked well with some of the wines, they didn't really work too well with the others. It could be due to the fruitines of the wine, the acidity of the wine, the herbal character of the wine, the earthiness of the wine or the leatheriness of the wine. And furthermore, what worked for some of the tasters didn't work for others, so it could be also due to the idiosyncrasies of the taster's palate.

One thing that I've found is usually failsafe is mushrooms, especially if you put a dash of the pinot noir you are going to drink, into the mushrooms as they first start to sweat in the pan and let them infuse the liquid. Duck is also pretty fail safe. Another thing to consider is a creamy brie cheese served with a thinly sliced toasted raisin bread.

The other night I cooked rack of lamb with a mustard and rosemary crust. the lamb was cooked fairly rare and was a good match to a number of pinot noirs we had open after a tasting earlier in the week.

BillCallos wrote:Tell Me, what are the best type of meals that go best with Pinot NoirBill

For me, game birds of all sorts (squab being at the top of the heap), rabbit or hare and mushrooms are the best matches. Squab with red Burgundy is usually a magical match. There are those who favor PN with salmon, but I'm not one of them.

Oh, one other variation on the game bird theme: salmis de canard, a preparation of duck that bears a strong resemblance to coq au vin. Served a selection of '88 Cote de Beaunes with it last year and it was magical.

Oh, one other variation on the game bird theme: salmis de canard, a preparation of duck that bears a strong resemblance to coq au vin. Served a selection of '88 Cote de Beaunes with it last year and it was magical.

Agreeing with the others and adding: dishes flavored with lots of soy sauce, chinese meat-filled dumplings, baked ham and almost any gratin containing ham, roast chicken, and smoked trout (especially served on a leek mousse).

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Any reason in particular why you don't like PN with salmon? Do you think it brings out a metallic taste in the Pinot?

I usually like the combo. Young tannic pinots really benefit when combined with the fattiness of the fish, especially with king salmon .

For my tastes, many Pinots aren't acidic enough to completely remove the taste of fish oil, and I don't care for fishy wine. Even when an acidic Pinot is paired with salmon, I don't get a sense that either the food or the wine is improved by the match; at best, it's a standoff. OTOH, certain powerhouse whites absolutely shine when paired with salmon. As always, YMMV. It occurs to me on rereading your post that the problem may be that I rarely drink young or tannic Pinot Noir, so perhaps that's what I've missed.

It's not universally appreciated, but coq au vin may be at its best with Bourgeuil, in the dish and the glass.

But the best dish with real Pinot (the Noodle only knows what to serve with stuff harvested at 33 Brix in the Santa Lucia Highlands) is the sauteed chicken with mass quantities of beautiful fresh morels (a gift), shallots, carrots, and bacon that I made for dinner tonight. The Pinot was from the Jura, and it was scarcely red.

Would good friends go better than a delicious tart such as, say, Sarah Michelle Geller, whom you wouldn’t know in advance? If so, good for you!

It’s interesting: I almost never pair food with wine, preferring wine alone or with something generically neutral, such as cheese or a hamburger. But one time that I said Wow! with regard to a pairing was over just about exactly what you recommended; and I was in a Seattle restaurant.

Sue Courtney wrote:Well I never thought of wine and cheese as an incorrect pairing! And I mentioned Brie above. Your baked brie sounds delicious. How do you do it?

Sue, I just noticed that we posted our replies at exactly the same time with similar suggestions. Great minds think alike!

The Brie for baking is sold with a thick skin that allows it hold its shape in the oven. We bake it at 375 F for about 30 minutes. The warm, melted Brie with crackers and pinot is excellent. Give it a try.

Not that "wine and cheese" is an incorrect pairing. I was told the Pinot did not have enough acidity to hold up the oil in the Brie. I chose to pair them anyway in the face of scorn and ridicule.

Sam

"The biggest problem most people have is that they think they shouldn't have any." - Tony Robbins

But the best dish with real Pinot (the Noodle only knows what to serve with stuff harvested at 33 Brix in the Santa Lucia Highlands) is the sauteed chicken with mass quantities of beautiful fresh morels (a gift), shallots, carrots, and bacon that I made for dinner tonight. The Pinot was from the Jura, and it was scarcely red.

Lucky you. The morel season seemed to be a complete bust out here this year .

It occurs to me on rereading your post that the problem may be that I rarely drink young or tannic Pinot Noir, so perhaps that's what I've missed.

The young tannic wines I was thinking of specifically were a group of big extracted OR Pinots sampled last year, that were tremendously improved with the fish. I don't think this would work with aged Burgundy.

BillCallos wrote:Tell Me, what are the best type of meals that go best with Pinot NoirBill

Hi Bill,

The one match not mentioned yet that I really like is with grilled tuna. I had this match a number of times and really like it. I just had a Cote du Nuit Villages with grilled halibut and found that to be a nice match also. Finally, I often match pinot with pork loin and tenderloin. These delicate meats go well with pinot, especially if you cook them just enough to get them done (just barely white in the middle). Enjoy.